


musical.

by sniikt



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/M, Fluff, just pure fluff, that's all this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 17:22:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17791592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sniikt/pseuds/sniikt
Summary: four times music brought you closer to joel.





	musical.

The first thing you notice about Joel are his hands.

It’s a weird first thing to notice, you think vaguely, but not that weird, because he’s shaking your hand and he’s from outside the wall and all the people you’ve met from outside the wall have rough calluses that scrape against your own skin but he doesn’t. You decide that they’re musicians hands--evenly muscled and skin toughened beyond the formation of calluses from constant use. You think you could picture him as a musician, maybe, before the world went to shit, but now he just looks cold and hard and tired.

Tommy tells you that Joel’s his brother, and that he’s new in town, and that he’s staying for a while, and they’re looking for a job that will be a good fit for him.

Later that week, when the shifts for wall duty are updated and posted on the town bulletin, you see Joel’s name next to yours on every shift.

* * *

You notice his smile next, on the graveyard shift during a rare lull when the world is silent except for the sounds of birds and crickets in the woods to the north. Joel doesn’t talk much, but as long as you’re not asking too many questions, he doesn’t seem to mind that you fill in any prolonged silences with small talk and bad jokes and surface level information about your past. You're not friends per se, and you certainly haven’t talked about anything much deeper than the weather, or your favorite color, or how Maria’s beef stew is terrible, but Tommy has forbidden everyone from telling her.  

You ask him about his favorite music, after a few more seconds of listening to the soft rustle of leaves in the distance, and that’s when you see his smile for the first time.

It’s like every hard line in his face softens, and he looks ten years younger, just for a second. It’s a real smile, that reaches his eyes, and makes them look a little less flinty, and he probably doesn’t think you can see it in the faint light of the lantern a few feet away as he leans over the railing of the wall and looks out at the world.

It’s the first night he does most of the talking.

You make a mental note to talk to him about music more.

* * *

You like to watch his eyes when he’s playing guitar.

He’s started teaching Ellie, and on warm, slow days, she comes up to the wall and convinces him to teach her for a while. He always hesitates, but two weeks of spending most days with him has taught you that his soft spots are guitar and Ellie and he can’t say no to either one. So they sit, with their legs dangling over the side of the wall, while she struggles with chords, and he nods at her encouragingly, patiently, looking for all the world like a proud dad. His eyes lose their flintiness, and get a soft sparkle, and when he looks over at you with soft, glittering hazel eyes, you could melt.

And when Ellie gets too frustrated and tired and begs him to play something for her, he’ll pick out a melody that’s all his own, and you’ll stare out at the setting sun, and pretend not to fall in love with the look of reverent concentration he gets.

* * *

You notice Joel is strong. Of course you notice--it’s all anyone ever talks about. Three quarters of the town whispers about that time he moved boxes shirtless, and the other quarter are old ladies that call him “a fine, strong, young man”. But you don’t think you ever really noticed his arms until that night, on the wall, when he wasn’t supposed to be on duty, but he comes anyway, telling you he noticed you were working the graveyard shift alone. He brings some of your favorite foods and conversation that mostly revolves around Dina and Ellie’s new romance. And when the conversation dies out, it’s a comfortable silence, with your shoulders brushing occasionally as you walk side by side on the wall.

He starts humming, singing softly under his breath occasionally, and for the first time in a long time, you feel at peace.

You don’t notice the tears falling down your cheeks until he tugs you into his arms with a soft “c’mere” and his arms are warm and strong and safe, and you’re so in love with him that your heart hurts.

When he finally lets you go, his hand finds yours, and your fingers intertwine with his, and he continues his soft singing with you pressed into his side.

  


**Author's Note:**

> this is short? and unedited? please forgive me (also yes playing guitar enough will make your hands resistant to calluses i didn't just make that up)


End file.
